My week of quantified self: day two

Yesterday (Monday) I started my week by choosing the devices I would use and getting them set up with Health Vault. It actually took a lot less time that I thought it would to set up, so I had plenty of time to get some exercise in.

According to my pedometer and Health Vault, I managed 25k steps – much more than the recommended 10k a day. This was from a 30 minute run after work and making sure to take my lunch break during the day, plus convincing a few colleagues to have our meetings on foot, walking around the local area – the lovely weather has been a big help!

The pedometer is a great little tool, I clip it on to my belt in the morning and then forget about it until I return home, so the high figure last night was a welcome surpirse. Today I was on the treadmill at the gym so the figure currently stands at 11k steps – again, above the recommended amount, so I think I will set my personal goal (a feature of Health Vault) to 18k per day.

I also cycle to work each day, however a pedometer doesn’t track this, so I needed to find another way of tracking. So far I have been using the Health Vault web app, but with the free Windows 8 app on my Samsung Tablet I am able to track other activity on the go, so simply entering how long the bike ride is, in the app, logs it within Health Vault and adds to my body data.

The same goes for activity at the gym, such as weight training, spinning or working out on the rowing machine. The pedometer is great for the treadmill and classes, but for these activities where you are not on your feet in a way that the pedometer can track, the app is ideal – simply choose or create a label of the workout you’ve done and keep it logged.

I could really see this as being a great tool for personal trainers too – perhaps people could share their exercise information with them so they can keep track (the great thing about Health Vault is you can control how much is shared, so they wouldn’t have access to your more personal medial information for example).

I’m going to try and fit in another run tonight – we’ll see how I feel when I get home. A Thai curry is calling and according to Health Vault, which I’m also able to check on my Windows Phone, I’ve earned it, so perhaps a lazy night is in order.